Books are great, but what makes a book good? One of the factors is the technique the author uses and how they use it. Lots of stories use descriptive writing to develop the setting like in the stories “The Monkey’s Paw”, and “Treasure of Lemon Brown”. In the short story “The Monkey’s Paw” the author uses descriptive adjectives to further the setting of the story and create mood. One way the author foreshadows, and sets the mood at the same time is when he wrote: “Of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live in, this is the worst.” This shows that the characters are dissatisfied with their home, which may hint to future actions to create a better environment. This also sets the mood to be gloomy. Another foreshadowing quote is when Jacobs …show more content…
One example of this is when he wrote “He reached the house just as another flash of lightning changed the night to day for an instance, then returned the graffiti-scarred building to the grim shadows.” This sentence helps develop a sinister mood, and also reveals the condition of Greg’s town. Another instance of descriptive writing is “...Greg could see a squarish patch of light on the floor.” The singular patch of light in the otherwise dark structure builds up suspense. It sets the mood to be mysterious, and eerie. Another example of mood development is when the story said “Squinting, Greg could see an old table on its side against one wall, what looked like a pile of rags or a mattress in the corner, and a couch, with one side broken, in front of the window.” The old furniture clumped up together creates an eerie mood for the reader as they wonder why it sits there in one place leaving the rest of the room empty. Walter Dean Myers uses descriptive writing to develop the create an immersive setting, and set the mood in his story “The Treasure of Lemon